VCDL: Gun Show Bill SB 1257; Officially Dead

This is a discussion on VCDL: Gun Show Bill SB 1257; Officially Dead within the The Second Amendment & Gun Legislation Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; Congratulations - Senator Marsh's gun show bill, SB 1257 is now
officially dead and won't be resurrected this year!
Senator Marsh knew there was some ...

VCDL: Gun Show Bill SB 1257; Officially Dead

Congratulations - Senator Marsh's gun show bill, SB 1257 is now
officially dead and won't be resurrected this year!

Senator Marsh knew there was some substitute language from Senator
Cuccinelli and Senator Edwards ready to go and he wanted none of it,
so he just called for a final vote. The bill failed to pass by 19 to
21.

RT coverage of so called gun show "loophole"

In second vote, Senate defeats bill to close gun show loophole
Sen. Henry Marsh considered reworking his bill to pick up more support but instead sought another floor vote.
By Mason Adams and Michael Sluss
(804) 697-1584 mike.sluss@roanoke.com (804) 697-1585

RICHMOND -- The Virginia Senate killed a bill Wednesday that would have required criminal background checks for nearly all firearms sales at gun shows.

The bill was initially defeated in a vote on Tuesday, but senators used a procedural move to keep the bill alive and give its sponsor, Sen. Henry Marsh, D-Richmond, a chance to rework it to pick up more votes. Marsh considered alternatives that would have softened the measure, but decided Wednesday to seek another floor vote on the original bill. The Senate's 21-19 vote ended debate on the issue for this year.

Advocates of Marsh's bill say it would close a loophole that allows unregulated private sales at gun shows, giving potential buyers with criminal records or dangerous mental illnesses an avenue to avoid an instant background check. The bill's opponents have argued that the legislation is unnecessary and could lead to measures that would prohibit all private firearms transactions.

Similar bills have been killed the last several years before making it to the full Senate, but Gov. Tim Kaine infused new life into the legislation last year by making it one of his priorities after the April 16, 2007, mass shootings at Virginia Tech.

Seung-Hui Cho, the mentally ill gunman who killed 32 people and himself, did not get his firearms from a gun show. But supporters of Marsh's bill, including families of some Tech shooting victims, argued that someone with a dangerous mental illness could skirt an instant background check by seeking out a private seller at a gun show.

"There isn't any reason why someone who is dangerously mentally ill or a felon should be able to get a gun under any circumstances and I continue to be surprised that people feel like that is OK," Kaine told reporters Wednesday before the vote.

Three Democratic senators from Western Virginia -- John Edwards of Roanoke, Phillip Puckett of Russell County and Roscoe Reynolds of Henry County -- joined Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania County, and 17 Republicans in voting against the bill.

Marsh said after the vote that other versions he had considered "would have weakened the bill so that it would have defeated the purpose of the bill."

"I'd rather come back when I can get a good bill rather than to pass something that doesn't mean anything," Marsh said.

The defeat of the bill disappointed two parents of Virginia Tech students who were wounded in the campus shootings. But Andrew Goddard and Lori Haas, who have followed the debate throughout the legislative session, said they preferred Marsh's bill to weaker alternatives.

Goddard, whose son Colin also was injured in the shootings, said the gun show legislation "shouldn't be a political issue." He expressed annoyance with opponents of the bill who have argued that legislation is not needed because Cho did not get his firearms from a gun show.

"If I hear one more person tell me that Cho didn't get his gun from a gun show, I think I'll explode," Goddard said. "Because we're not that stupid ... This is not an issue that is going to change what happened at Virginia Tech. You can't go back and change what happened in the past, no matter what you do. What we're looking at is -- let's close down all the avenues that somebody who shouldn't have a gun could use."

Goddard said he also was bothered that some have suggested the Tech victim families are being exploited by gun control advocates.

"I've had a lot of feedback that the families are being used as political pawns in this thing, that we're being paraded around and used as window dressing by people who have other motives," Goddard said. "I find it extremely insulting that people would think that we are puppets in this game. We got into this because of our experience, there's no doubt about that. But it's that that's motivating us. We're not taking instructions from anywhere."

Marsh considered alternatives that would have softened the measure, but decided Wednesday to seek another floor vote on the original bill.

"Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less."
"Save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword" - Gen. R. E. Lee

Two BAD LTEs

Virginia law keeps convicted felons and those with dangerous mental illnesses from purchasing guns from licensed gun dealers. Suppose the law was amended to allow felons and those with dangerous mental illness to purchase guns on Tuesday. Such a loophole wouldn't make much sense, would it?

The loophole that allows felons and persons with dangerous mental illness to purchase guns at gun shows doesn't make any sense either. The gun show loophole should be closed.

Our Virginia Senate's vote to kill a bill that required criminal background checks at gun shows seems illogical. Gun fanciers and the NRA have long said that banning guns would allow only criminals to have guns, and they certainly have a point.

But the purpose of this bill was to try to eliminate guns going to criminals, not ban guns for lawful buyers. To suggest that this measure would prohibit private firearm transactions is to say that any restrictive law leads to total elimination of rights in the future.

Gun owners should rethink their position on this issue. Passage of such a bill would only reduce some criminal behavior.

RT Editorial & LTE

Once again, an effort was made to close Virginia's gun-show loophole, which allows unlicensed dealers to sell weapons without a background check of buyers. Licensed dealers must perform such background checks. Once again, the effort failed.

However, the reaction to one bill should enlighten those who believe unlicensed dealers go to gun shows just to sell one or two guns from their private collections.

Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave dismissed a compromise attempt by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, that would have exempted concealed-carry permit holders from a background check by a private seller. Van Cleave said any requirement to perform background checks would hurt private dealers: "There's a small cost in running the check, but while they're fooling with some little transfer, they're missing opportunities to sell more guns and make a lot of money." That doesn't sound like the concern of a hobbyist, does it?

Meanwhile, Del. Dave Nutter, RChristiansburg, is continuing his quest to close access to a Virginia State Police database of people with permits to carry concealed weapons. His bill, in response to a 2007 outcry over the online publication of the database by Roanoke Times editorial writer Christian Trejbal, passed the House.

As we have acknowledged, that publication was a mistake. There was not a sufficiently compelling journalistic reason to publish the entire database -- which included people who got their permits because they were victims of crime or domestic abuse. But the appropriate response to that mistake is not to throw a blanket over the database.

More narrowly drawn provisions could protect the privacy of those who might be put at risk by the release of this public record without closing off the entire record. If the state's concealed-carry law should fail in some way in its intent to protect public safety, the public has a need to know and a right to know. As we have said before, it should have the means to know.

I am so tired to people using April 16, 2007, to go against gun laws. The issue at hand is keeping criminals from buying guns at gun shows.

Seung-Hui Cho was a bright student; his school speaks for itself. The question is, was he a criminal? No, he was mentally ill. In the Jan. 25 paper, some individuals had signs that stated "Guns didn't save these people." The question is, "Were the shooters criminals or mentally ill?"

I can say that guns save lives. I was night fishing at Wasena Park and was approached by a man. I had to pull my firearm from concealment and call the Roanoke city police. If it were not for my side arm, I may not be here to write this letter and voice my opinion.

You can ban as many guns as you want. Bad people will get to one. Closing the gun-show loophole will not stop criminals from getting guns and hurting people. Sen. Henry Marsh must not have served in the military or had someone try to take his life. For every criminal with a gun, there are two, three or four honest gun owners who will defend and protect their homes, situations in public places or school.